Four farmhands who died in a horrific early morning crash were not wearing seatbelts and three were thrown from the "unsafe" vehicle when its roof was torn off.

A grandmother who pulled a young family from a crashed car moments before it burst into flames says she was "in the right place at the right time".

Once again, it will be easier to get a speeding ticket this Christmas.

One person has been taken to hospital following a crash between a car and a truck in Carterton this morning.

A Northland family have a quick-thinking passer-by to thank for saving their lives after a bizarre crash described by a policeman as the luckiest escape he has seen.

Statistically, Dunedin is New Zealand's worst city for motor vehicle crashes and casualties - but Palmerston North, Hamilton and Napier aren't far behind.

The two Indian men who were killed in a crash near Tokoroa yesterday have been named as a father and son from Jharkhand in eastern India.

A 3-week-old boy died with four members of his family in a crash in the Waikato - and may have lain in the wreckage since Sunday night.

Police have named a family of five killed in a Waikato crash, whose bodies were found today, shortly after another fatal accident in the region.

Nabbing speeding drivers in Northland used to be a rather covert affair, but in a drive to make the region's roads safer a speed camera van is no longer incognito.

Two people were sent to hospital and Auckland's Northern Motorway was completely blocked after a truck crashed and rolled at the entrance of the Victoria Park tunnel.

New Zealanders are dying and being seriously injured in crashes that could have been avoided with a lower drink-drive limit.

The driver of a Fonterra milk tanker was killed yesterday when his truck crashed into a drain near Dargaville. The man died at the scene, said Northland fire service spokesperson Tania Matthews.

A young driver who mowed down a pedestrian, killing him instantly, before speeding off narrowly avoided jail today.

An 18-year-old who pleaded guilty to a fatal hit and run in September will be sentenced later this morning.

The two tourists killed in yesterday's horror crash in Malborough had only just met and were sharing a ride, police say.

A man was perched out of the window of a moving van just moments before two charity motorcycle riders were killed in a "sickening" crash, a fellow rider says.